Blog Tour: 2015 Fierce Reads Q&A, Reviews and Contest Giveaway

q&a

I got to ask the authors one question, here’s mine! (Unfortunately Leigh Bardugo had limited time to answer mine, so she has no answer.)

If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?

Emma Mills

I have to shout out fellow Fierce Reads tour-mate Leigh Bardugo—I am so hyped about SIX OF CROWS! The whole time I was reading I thought to myself, I wish I could write a book like this! The world that Leigh created is so complete and complex and fascinating, and the characters themselves are incredibly real and raw and layered… I just loved it!

About
Emma Mills is a debut author better known to her subscribers as vlogger Elmify. She is also co-creator and co-host of the “life skills” channel How to Adult.

Josephine Angelini

Harry Potter. Those books impacted an entire generation of readers. And I love them.

AboutJosephine Angelini is the internationally bestselling author of Trial by Fire and the Starcrossed series. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. Originally from Massachusetts, Josie now lives in Los Angeles with her screenwriter husband, her daughter, Pia Marie, and three shelter cats. You can visit her on Facebook, her website josephineangelini.com, or follow her on Twitter @josieangelini.

Leila Sales

Harry Potter. That is, as far as I’m aware, the only correct answer to this question. Why? Because if I’d written Harry Potter, I would be one of the greatest creative geniuses ever. That sounds good to me.

AboutLeila Sales is the author of the novels This Song Will Save Your Life, Mostly Good Girls, and Past Perfect.This Song Will Save Your Lifegarnered two starred reviews, was included on the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list, was one of Bank Street College of Education’s Best Books of the Year, and was listed as one of the Best YA Books of 2013 by Buzzfeed.com. It has been published in ten foreign countries, and it has been optioned for stage and film development.

Leila grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Chicago. When she’s not writing, she spends her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, chocolate, and how to get more of all of them. Leila lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in children’s book publishing. Follow her @LeilaSalesBooks.

the books

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Recklessly loyal.

That’s how seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley has always thought of herself. Caring for her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But lately she’s grown resentful of everyone—including her needy best friend and her absent mom—taking her loyalty for granted.

Then Arden stumbles upon a website called Tonight the Streets Are Ours, the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter, who gives voice to feelings that Arden has never known how to express. He seems to get her in a way that no one else does, and he hasn’t even met her.

Until Arden sets out on a road trip to find him.

During one crazy night out in New York City filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn’t exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn’t exactly who she thought she was, either.

Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.

“You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified.”

Lily is back in her own universe, and she’s ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking pretty good.

Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing away with the ones she loves.

Picking up right where Trial By Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini!

Devon Tennyson wouldn’t change a thing. She’s happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon’s cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn’t want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.

the reviews

I’m pretty sure most people would probably end up DNFing this because it tends to be pretty drawn out and boring in the first half of the book. Don’t! You’ll be missing out on a whole slew of wonderful characters and an even crazier plot. It’s set up that way so we can get to know all the characters. Leigh does this very well and once the plot starts moving in the middle, you can see how intricate the story leads. I suggest you keep trucking along because the story you think will happen keeps getting twisted. So many revelations, so much back-story for each character, and the Grisha universe expands ten-fold. I liked reading from all these criminals point of views, it’s not every day you get to. There’s also several romances so I’m sure everyone will have a couple to root for. I have one couple that I’m supporting for sure 🙂

Jesper and his arrogant funny quips. Inej and her strong-will and secretive nature. Kaz and his brain which is always whirring. Nina and her witty remarks. Helvar and his attitude. Wylan and his wealthy upbringing ways. I pretty much loved the diverse cast. They’re all well-thought of and their dialogue really suits each of their personalities. It was like I could watch a movie and know exactly how they would look like and how their expressions would mirror what they were saying. Being all brought together for a single purpose was pretty genius. This plan that gets them breaking into the most secure prison was highly rewarding and risky but I pretty much gobbled it up after the slow start ended.

For fans who love a different take on the hero and villain role, you’ll certainly love the expanded Grisha universe with a whole cast of characters. I’m definitely on for another Grisha adventure!

rating

4/5

A sequel that is worth reading, especially if you’re looking for more world building questions being answered. We find out so many more details about the parallel universes and a little bit more about Lillian. I finally got to understand why she does the things she did. Fascinating to read more through Lillian’s point of view especially since it’s the same character but with different circumstances. And the biggest secret of all has to be with Rowan (obviously). I also didn’t realize he was Native American which makes this book even better because the love interest is a POC (Person of Colour). I like that there’s some diversity even if it’s just the love interest. I obviously didn’t enjoy the twist that happened because it made everything feel upside down. Even though having parallel universes may seem confusing, Josephine has the ability to make you distinguish one from the other.

I’m glad the main focus wasn’t the romance this time around, but the plot. There’s also so much more magic. Lily finally gets some help in the most unlikely of places. She needed some people that were on her side and I rather enjoyed reading about their banter.

Firewalker is a decent sequel and adds more to the magical worlds that Josephine has created.

11 Comments

I love this entire post, The Six Of Crows is on it’s way to me and I want to add the others to my TBR list right away because they look great! The Giveaway looks great, it’s a shame I’m not Canadian :’)

Also, I am currently running a Giveaway! Click here for a chance to win Garrett Calcaterra’s ‘Dreamwielder’! Good luck!

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ABOUT

Hello! I'm Giselle and I'm a BlogTuber (Book Blogger + BookTuber). I book blog and I also make videos on my BookTube channel . I'm also a web and graphic designer, amateur photographer n00b, dog lover, and all around book nerd. *waves* :P

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